Prisoners of Liberty
by Hirono
Summary: Ichigo was thrown into jail for gang-related activities. There he met Aizen, a mysterious but powerful man that was able to break him out of the prison, but...at what price? AU, yaoi, coarse language, hint of adult themes later on
1. The Turnabout

A/N: Hello! It's been a long while since I've posted anything, but finally I got a stroke of inspiration and determination (not to mention time) to write fanfics! So my other fic may actually be updated soon...maybe.

I decided to write this fic because there are far too few AizenxIchigo out there. I hope you'll enjoy! :)

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Warning: Yaoi, coarse language (this chapter's set in prison, after all...), and hint of adult themes later on.

Characters in this chapter: Ichigo, Grimmjow, Urahara, Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, Aizen

Pairings in this chapter: GrimmjowxUlquiorra

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or I would've revamped ButterflAizen's look AND personality

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**Prisoners of Liberty**

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**Chapter 1: The Turnabout**

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At the far edges of Karakura town, therein laid the town's most infamous all-men prison, where all the worst law-breakers, most cold-hearted murderers, and remorseless prisoners dwelled. Though the citizens of Karakura Town did not approve of capital punishment, many people, the prisoners included, would very much prefer the death of the law-breakers than be trapped inside of this cold, shady facility. Most of the prisoners were sentenced for a life time, very few of which will ever taste the freedom that they have lost. Even if one was to die inside the prison, no one would know nor care. As such, rumour has it that those who go in never come back out in one piece.

Such was the fate which a certain orange haired teenage boy was about to face.

The hard stainless steel door opened, briefly allowing a beam of sunlight in as a new prisoner entered. Heads were turned to see the new arrival, but the sunlight was too bright, casting the newcomer in shadows. The door slammed shut, and before anyone could adjust their sight, the boy, along with the guard, had already turned to the corridor where his cell was.

"Go." The guard pushed the teenager roughly into his prison cell as the teen tumbled in, coughing. The bright-haired teen cursed under his breath. "What was that?" The guard provoked. The teen just turned to glare at him. The guard then sneered, "You better learn your manners here, Kurosaki Ichigo, or you'll soon see why."

The guard left the teenager alone in his cell as he closed the rusty door. Ichigo looked at his living quarters for the next few months. It was a rather small cell that had a folded bed and a very disgusting-looking toilet. There were no windows, only artificial light from the corridor that sneaked in through the eye hole of the door. The blackened walls displayed the galore of thoughts and boredom of the cell's previous occupant.

The teen decided to sit at the corner farthest from the door. While he crouched down and hugged his knees, he wondered briefly why he was sentenced in this prison, when his offence was minimal compared to his current cell mates. _Probably because the judge didn't like my attitude, or it's just my orange hair that pissed her off, so she decided to teach me a lesson the hard way_, the teen thought, frowning deeper as he thought of the raven-haired judge.

Though the teen was tired, he could not sleep, for it was his first night ever since the age of four to be completely trapped with no way out.

* * *

The next morning (or so Ichigo thought – he had no way of telling time in his cell), the guard opened the door to drop off breakfast. Ichigo slowly crawled over to see that there were actually edible-looking scrambled eggs and sausages. He wolfed it down before any of those drooling rats near the wall could have a bite.

The guard then took him out to the field outside to do some physical labour since they said he was young and healthy and all. Ichigo had to work along with others to wash off the walls of the prison, under the strict supervision of guards. The prisoners were not allowed to talk during work. Ichigo was wiping down the wall absent-mindedly when his wiper accidentally hit the person next to him. "Watch it, brat," muttered the short teal haired man. Ichigo glared at him. The man mocked, "What, you wanna have a go?"

Two smacks were heard throughout the field as the guard hit them, "Get back to work, you two!"

Ichigo turned back to face the wall, but not before looking at the name tag in front of the teal-haired man: Grimmjow Jacquerjack.

"Nice to meet you too, Strawberry," whispered Grimmjow, gritting his teeth.

The guard was staring at them, so Ichigo did not say anything, although a hint of blush rose into his cheeks from embarrassment and anger.

* * *

Eventually, Ichigo's internal clock adjusted to the prison's schedule and patterns. The life in prison was basically divided into several segments: Meals, work every other day, and showers. One could tell that it is breakfast because they always had eggs. Work was often hard and unrewarding, but at least it was something to keep Ichigo's mind preoccupied. The other times he just sat in his cell and stare at the graffiti-filled wall, listening to the occasional howlings of his fellow inmate. He did not make any friends either – the people either looked uninterested or just downright scary (even scarier than those he had met on the streets).

But there was one thing he was looking forward to: Ichigo was told that there was a "free" time each week in which the prisoners could do limited activities such as watching TV, sitting outside within the walled areas, reading books and magazines or playing pool. As Ichigo was already bored out of his mind, the "free time" gave him something to do.

Before that, though, he had to face a certain correctional service agent to "monitor his behaviour" and "rehabilitate into a better person".

Ichigo thought it was a waste of time, but he had no choice as the guard shoved him into a caged room with only two chairs, one long wooden table, a small dusty window, and a simple light hanging from the ceiling. Ichigo thought it rather resembled an interrogation room. He sat there and waited for a few minutes. Unexpectedly, a playful voice rattled, startling him.

"Good afternoon, Kurosaki Ichigo, 15, the youngest ever admitted into this prison," Ichigo turned around to see a rather young correctional service agent walking in, closing the metal gate as he said so. The agent had light short unkempt blonde hair, his eyes somewhat hidden under his weird green and white striped hat. He wore a loose tux with his shirt open at the neck. _Great,_ Ichigo thought,_ another shady guy_.

"Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Urahara Kisuke. I'm just here to know a little bit more about you."

Ichigo remained silent. Urahara threw a folder on the table, grabbed a chair and sat across the table from Ichigo. He crossed his hands on the table and muttered, "Where to begin?

"According to the files, you are the son of Kurosaki Masaki and Isshin, correct?" Urahara took the twitch on Ichigo's face as confirmation. "They were murdered by burglars when you were just four, so you've been living with foster families until two years ago, when you chose to live on your own."

Ichigo continued to stare at the wall behind Urahara, waiting for this session to be over.

"Your school grade wasn't bad at all, but you've had several suspected cases of bullying during junior high. You even dropped out of school the two years ago, the same year you decided to live on your own," Urahara sighed, "But that didn't go too well, did it? No one in their right minds would hire someone at the age of 13, so unfortunately you had to turn to employers _not_ in their right minds."

Ichigo snorted.

"Little gang activities here and there and you were the one caught out of all your friends. The judge sentenced you six months in this hellish prison and hope you'd come back out a different man."

"So you're going to ask me about what kind of crap I did in the past two years?" Ichigo said dismissively.

"The gang activities are not my concern today," Urahara pressed on, "My question really boils down to this: Why did leave your foster family?"

Ichigo could hear faint screaming in the distant. Something flashed by his eyes. He blinked and muttered, "No reason, really. I just didn't feel like relying on them."

"Don't feel like relying on them or don't feel like living with them?" Urahara asked shrewdly.

Ichigo stared directly into Urahara's eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you feel like you were leeching off them, so you wanted to go away? Or do you feel that they were…not dependable?" Urahara observed Ichigo.

"Whatever you say goes," said Ichigo uncaringly while looking at the window.

"Mr. Kurosaki, I know it's up to you whether you tell me or not, but if just bottle it up, nothing's going to change."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned to face Urahara, "Like I care. Look, a shit-load of teenager has independence issues, and I'm just one of them," Ichigo lied effortlessly, "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Urahara sighed, "Very well, then. We'll talk about this another time." Urahara stood up and was about to leave when he stopped, turned around and reached into his pocket. Ichigo was preparing for whatever's coming next when Urahara held out a card, "Here, this is my number. If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, call me." Urahara left the card on the table and left. Ichigo just sat there and stared at the card.

"Come on, let's go," the guard grumbled. Ichigo took the card off the table and threw it in the garbage can at the exit.

* * *

He came onto the field slightly late, as most of the prisoners were already doing their activities. Ichigo was looking around for something to do when he caught a flash of teal hair walking by. Naturally, Ichigo followed, as Grimmjow strolled directly to the corner of the field closer to the main prison. Ichigo looked and saw another prisoner already standing there. That pale man had black, slightly unkempt hair. Ichigo thought that he had a weird tattoo – vertical black lines under both his eyes, giving a false impression that he was crying. But what chilled Ichigo the most were his cold, green eyes, as if they had seen everything. The eyes glittered very slightly as they spotted Grimmjow approaching.

"Yo, Ulquiorra," greeted Grimmjow.

"You're late," said Ulquiorra, his voice indifferent.

"Can't help it. The inspector got a bone to pick with me," Grimmjow suddenly went forward and kissed Ulquiorra on the spot. Ulquiorra closed his eyes. Ichigo's mind went whirling out of control as he witnessed their kiss. By the time Ichigo pulled his mind together, they already broke off. "Your lack of tact never ceases to surprise me," said Ulq emotionlessly.

Grimmjow suddenly looked over and saw Ichigo looking at them, "What? Never seen this before, virgin?" sneered Grimmjow.

"Yeah right, father-fucker, I was just shocked that you guys did it in broad daylight."

"That's why I called you a virgin, virgin."

"I'm not –"

"There's no point arguing with this trash, Grimm," commented Ulquiorra, "Just ignore him."

"You-!"

"Who's the new trash?" interrupted a thin, rough voice. Ichigo turned to see another weird dude with shoulder-length black hair and pointy eyes approaching with several other prisoners. "Shit," cursed Grimmjow, "Nnoitra."

Nnoitra and his gang stopped to look at Ichigo. Nnoitra grinned widely as he said, "You're the brat with the orange hair, huh? Well, don't ya get my prey. I'm the one who's gonna beat lil' Grimmjow here up."

Ulquiorra was in front of Grimmjow in a flash, "Don't think too highly of yourself, Nnoitra, or did you already forget about the last fight we've had?"

Nnoitra frowned, "That was last time. I came back to settle the score."

Ichigo inched away as they argued, but before he could escape to a safe distance he was pushed back into the circle by Nnoitra's gang. Nnoitra peered sideways at Ichigo, "I'm not done with ya yet, buddy. Let's see how well you fight._ After_ I'm done with these two."

The gang cheered on. Ichigo sweated, unsure what to do.

"What's with all the noise?" came a deep, calm voice.

The shouting died away. Everyone turned to look at the man who was sitting on the top of table right next to Ichigo. Ichigo followed their stares. The man had brown hair and eyes, with a strand of loose hair hanging in front of his handsome face, for even with the poor conditions of the prison, the person managed to look half-way decent. Ichigo remarked how that man wore the orange uniform stylishly. Something flickered at the back of Ichigo's mind as he looked at the man, but before he could grasp what it was the man looked directly at him and asked, "Oh, so you're the new orange-haired brat? Nice to meet you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo spat. Nnoitra suddenly appeared in front of him and punched him in the face. Ichigo coughed and spat out blood. He was about to retaliate but two muscular men held him down.

The brunette smirked, leaned closer and said, "My name is Aizen Sousuke. You may refer to me as Aizen-sama."

Ichigo gritted his teeth. The punch from before was too painful for him to say anything as his cheeks began to swell.

"Good, I see you're finally learning some manners," Aizen seemed satisfied as he leaned backward again. Ichigo glared at him but said nothing.

"You see, it's only natural that we fellow prisoners should know each other better, wouldn't you agree?," Aizen chuckled, "You are, by far, the youngest that has ever entered these depths of hell, so naturally we'd all be somewhat…interested…in you."

Ichigo felt a chill running down his back. He never felt so many unwanted attentions as he did now. He looked around but he could see no guards as he was surrounded by a wall of men.

"Though whatever you've done, you're still underage. I doubt they'll actually put you in here for the rest of your life.

"I'll make you a deal."

Ichigo frowned; knowing whatever comes next would not be to his favour.

"With your cocky and disrespectful attitude, the judge most likely hates you, and you probably won't get out of here too soon," Aizen watched as the truth of his words sank into the teen, "But, with my influence, I can get you out as soon as tomorrow comes."

Ichigo's eyes widened, "How can you get me out of here? You're just a prisoner in this god-forsaken hell hole!" Ichigo said disbelievingly.

A chorus of laughter rang throughout the walled section. Nnoitra and Grimmjow buckled over in laughter. Aizen smirked, "Oh, Kurosaki Ichigo, you'll find me far more powerful than you can imagine."

Ichigo remained unconvinced, "If you had that much power, why didn't you break yourself and the rest you guys out of here?"

Aizen's eyes glimmered maliciously. An evil smile hung on his mouth as he told Ichigo, "Sometimes being in prison has far more freedom than you can imagine."

Ichigo did not trust this man. Not one bit. But… to get out of this despicable place, he would give it a shot. He swallowed as he uttered with difficulty, "What deal?" Ichigo's face was ashen.

Aizen's eyes seemed to flash of something momentarily, but before Ichigo could discern any meaning behind it, Aizen leaned forward and whispered in Ichigo's ear, "Become my servant out there."

"What?"

"You don't understand, Ichigo? Well, I suppose you're still young," Aizen sighed as he lifted Ichigo's chin up to look at him better, "You will help me do my dirty work out there." Aizen watched with satisfaction as the boy's eyes flared with defiance, "I'll contact you from time to time to give you some tasks. Not too difficult, even for you."

"I'm not going to be your dog!" Ichigo roared.

"You look like one to me," Grimmjow interjected, "Bitch."

"Grimmjow," Aizen warned softly. Grimmjow shut up immediately, but still sneered at Ichigo victoriously as Ichigo grew visibly angrier. Ichigo would have rushed at Grimmjow for that nick were it not for Aizen's grip (as well as those two muscular men holding him down) that kept Ichigo where he was. Somehow, even without using too much physical strength, that man restrained him.

"So? What's it going to be? A prisoner here or my slave out there?"

Aizen chuckled. Ichigo scowled. He longed for running in the open, not breathing in the musty air of prison. At least out there, he knew where to go to avoid unnecessary fights. He could check up with Renji, his friend.

"What exactly am I doing out there?" Ichigo inquired.

"A little bit of this and that," Aizen grinned, "You won't get caught."

Ichigo knew his answer already. His pride, however, prevented him from saying it. He stared at the ground as he gritted out the word, "Fine."

"I couldn't quite catch that."

Ichigo glared directly into Aizen's brown sinister eyes and said louder, "Fine. Whatever gets me out of here."

Aizen smirked in approval, released his grip on Ichigo and said, "Don't worry too much about it. Almost everything is already set up for you."

The bell rang. The prisoners scrambled as the guards, just non-existent moments before, swarmed the area to escort the prisoners back to their cells. Ichigo looked back, but Aizen already vanished in the crowd of people. He shook his head as he followed the line, marching back into the prison.

* * *

Ichigo sat in his cell, his cheeks still throbbing. He thought about whether Aizen actually had that kind of power, or whether that was just a cruel joke played on the newcomer as an 'initiation'. Ichigo could not care less. It was a win-win situation for him; if Aizen was truly what he claimed, then hopefully he will keep his promise and he will get out of this place. If he was not…at least he gained some acceptance in this prison.

* * *

He fell asleep from exhaustion. Maybe it was because of today's events, he dreamt of Aizen, playing with a puppet. He was somehow able to pluck the strings of the puppet off and put it on another wooden cross. The puppet was so animated and lively that Ichigo could hardly believe it was not a living person. Ichigo was about to get a closer look at the puppet when he was awakened by the harsh banging at the door.

"Get out, brat," The guard grumbled.

Ichigo followed. He could not tell the time in the prison, but it was probably in the middle of the night as most of the prisoners he passed by were asleep or...doing their activities in their cells. Ichigo looked away from them and asked to the guard tentatively, "Where am I…?"

"Don't ask questions."

The guard led him through a door hidden behind a painting. They went down several flights of stairs, walked through a maze-like tunnel with minimal lighting before reaching a black, metal door. The guard opened the door. Ichigo was right; the moonlight shone in, temporarily brightening the area. Ichigo looked at the guard as he whispered, "Go quickly. Try not to let anyone see you. If you get caught, say it's your own fault."

Ichigo took a tentative step outside. The guard pushed him out and closed the squeaking door. Ichigo just stood there for several minutes. A gust of wind blew, and Ichigo took off.

Ichigo could not believe it. He could breathe in freedom again. As he ran into the night, he ignored the deep velvet voice that whispered in the night, quietly reminding him that his freedom was a chained one.

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A/N: Ta-da! And that was the first chapter. I hope you liked it. Thanks a ton for reading! Drop by a review if you'd like :)


	2. The Inauguration of Shadows

A/N: THANK YOU FOR all the reviews, alerts, favorites and just reading my story in general xD! I'm glad you guys like the story :) Speaking of which, AizenxIchigo development will be somewhat slow in this fic, so that hopefully it will actually make sense in the end. Just as a warning ^-^ Special thanks to xxFluffy for editing this chapter and taking all my nonsensical words out xD

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Characters in this chapter: Ichigo, Renji, Kyoraku, Nanao

Pairings in this chapter: KyorakuxNanao

Warning: Coarse language and mature subject matter (Not the down-the-gutter type)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

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**Prisoners of Liberty**

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**Chapter 2: The Inauguration of Shadows**

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Ichigo trailed around Karakura town to ensure that he had no tails following him, all the while savouring the freedom that he had regained. After walking around for several hours, he finally headed toward his and Renji's place. They named the place the Haven, because it was so hidden from the outside world that only Renji and Ichigo seemed to know about it, and even they stumbled upon it by chance. They were running from another gang when they entered the street by accident and found the abandoned living quarters. Other buildings were built beside it, so the place was forgotten in the midst of high-rise buildings. The Haven was not big, but it had everything they need in case of an emergency.

The sun was not rising yet, but the sky was getting brighter; it was early morning. Ichigo knew his red-haired friend always stayed at Haven at this time. He picked up an abandoned newspaper and turned right into a very narrow street. After turning six times in what seemed like a maze, the familiar faded red door appeared in front of him. He opened it hesitantly.

Not surprisingly, he found Renji sitting alone with one leg up inside the Haven. Renji had not changed much from the last time Ichigo had seen him – sharp eyes, designer and weird tattoo stemming from his no-longer-existent eyebrows, and his hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore a loose shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans that had several ripped holes. Renji looked worried and preoccupied, so Ichigo called out, "Oi, Renji!" Renji turned around toward the sound in a flash. His face was in complete shock as soon as he saw the orange hair.

"Ichigo…?" Renji blinked hard, "Are you really Strawberry?"

"The only strawberry you know, pineapple-head," He scowled. He only let Renji use that nickname occasionally because that was how they knew each other.

Renji approached him and said disbelievingly, "But shouldn't you be, you know, jailed?"

Ichigo tried to explain, "You wouldn't believe this, but there's this man in the prison who broke me out."

"No way man," Renji said in a slur, almost dream-like.

"I couldn't believe it either. But here I am," Ichigo shrugged.

"WE were going to break you out. Now someone else broke you out before we did."

Ichigo put his hand on his forehead and muttered, "I'm glad you didn't make it in time."

"What was that?" Renji raised his tattooed eyebrow.

"Nothing," said Ichigo hurriedly.

"Anyways, welcome back bro." They awkwardly hugged each other. Renji took a good look at him and said, "Prison didn't do you so good, huh?"

"You have no idea." Ichigo muttered.

"There's something else on your mind," Renji knew Ichigo well; after all, they spent nearly two years together, "Spew it," demanded Renji.

"About the jail break…" Ichigo said hesitantly, "Well, there's a catch."

Ichigo explained his deal with Aizen. Renji thought Ichigo was crazy for taking the deal, but shrugged as he could do nothing about it at this point.

"Well, let's hope he won't make you do too much shit."

"I hope not," Ichigo muttered darkly as he put on a blue cap and sunglasses.

"Yo, you wanna grab some stuff from Shun's? I'm starving."

"Why don't you go and get it? I hate getting you stuff," Ichigo protested, but he knew he would get it for Renji anyway, so he asked instead, "That down-sized convenience store's still working, huh?"

"Well, if it wasn't, you and the gang would have starved to death already. Not for me though; I can always get my food somewhere else," Renji said smugly.

"Yeah, okay, Renji, remember that time at the Iza-"

"Just get on with it," Renji pushed him outside of the door.

Ichigo was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned to face Renji, "And one more thing. Try not to tell anyone about this; I don't think he'd like it too much," Ichigo scowled, "If anyone asks say I wasn't sentenced for that long and I was…er…'behaving well' so they let me out early, with probation."

Renji said slowly, "Man, I don't know if they'd buy that, but sure I'll try. Just don't be too flashy."

* * *

Shun's was a convenience store just two blocks down from the Haven. The store was rather old and run-down compared to the big chain supermarkets around, but the local residents still visit the store once in a while. The security was, fortunately for Ichigo, miserably lax, so Ichigo and his friends always went there to "get stuff" when money was running low.

The sun had fully risen; the streets began to fill with people. As Ichigo entered the store, a rather young store clerk who had black hair and eyeglasses greeted him, "Welcome to Shun's!" Ichigo nodded. He looked around and saw that the middle-aged store owner was here as well. _Shit,_ thought Ichigo, _I gotta be more careful, but this shouldn't be a problem._

Ichigo put his hands in his pockets, browsing around in the store. Looking up occasionally at the reflective mirrors which were at every corner of the store, he checked whether the shaggy store owner with the curly long pony tail was looking. The store clerk and the store owner were both talking to a regular customer, so Ichigo felt safe as he leaned closer and closer to the shelf. He made sure that his back was facing the only camera in the shop, which was at the counter.

"So how's your store going lately, Kyoraku-tenchou?" asked the white, longed hair customer.

"Oh, not too well, I'm afraid with all those big chain supermarkets around, my tiny convenience store don't stand too much chance against them, even if my shipments are slightly cheaper," Kyoraku, the store owner, sighed lightly, but was smiling slightly as he nodded to the store clerk, "But Nanao-chan here has been working really hard to keep the customers coming. She is a wonderful store clerk; the customers always praise her work."

Nanao's cheeks turned fairly pink, "I'm just doing my job. You don't have to mention me every time you talk to someone."

The customer laughed, "Right, how long have you guys been going out now?"

Kyoraku side hugged Nanao as he announced proudly, "Eight months, two weeks, and four days. Not counting today because Nanao-chan here can dump me anytime in the next couple of hours."

"Please don't say that," Nanao scolded Kyoraku. Ichigo pretended to look at a pack of chips with his left hand while quietly putting two bars of chocolate into his right pocket.

"That is a good point," The customer giggled, "Nanao-san, what _do_ you see in this hulky and shaggy guy?"

"Well," said Nanao shyly as she lifted her glasses, "You see, I'm trying to get into the MBA program, but my parents-" Nanao paused, blinked, and continued, "I have to support myself and my younger sister. Kyoraku-san was nice enough to offer me a flexible job. He even helped me with studying after work. I don't think I would've taken all the pressure well if it wasn't for him supporting me all the way. For that I'm very thankful." She bended toward Kyoraku and gave him a swift kiss on the cheeks.

"Oh, Nanao-chan," Kyoraku grinned, "I told you that you can always just call me Shunsui."

"You two are as lovey-dovey as it can get. My daughter would be so jealous."

Ichigo glanced slightly at the completely embarrassed Nanao as he exited the store. He thought that Nanao seemed to have eye shadows under her eyes from studying and working when someone bumped into him so hard that Ichigo had to balance himself with an outstretched hand on the wall, "Watch where you're going, brat," muttered the man with a dark complexion and braided hair. Ichigo turned around to retort, but the man already was too far away with too many people in between them.

Ichigo cursed his bad luck and headed back to the Haven. As he turned around the corner, he yelled, "Yo, Renji! I got your shi-" He dug into his right pocket, but instead of the snacks he "grabbed", he found himself holding a card. "What the-?" Ichigo looked at the elegant card with a red rose petal attached at the bottom right corner. _Must have been that guy_, Ichigo looked around for Renji, half with guilt for losing the food and half with embarrassment of being pick-pocketed without him knowing, but Renji was nowhere to be seen. A note was left on the box Renji was sitting on, saying that he had to be out for a couple of days because of an 'emergency'. Normally, Ichigo would have been furious for Renji ditching him after an order and wondered where he could possibly go for 'an emergency', but today he was thankful.

He focused back on the card. Abruptly, he dreaded what it contained, for he knew it must be a mission. He read the neat hand-writing on the card:

"Destroy the storehouse of Shun's Convenience Store, No. 15 Storage Shed on Starry Dock, tomorrow night."

Ichigo felt both fear and anger bubbling in his chest as he read the instructions. He squeezed the corner of the card tightly as he continued,

"P.S. Please keep the rose petals."

Ichigo peeled the petal off the corner, revealing a black rose underneath. Ichigo stuffed the petal uncaringly in his pocket as he took the card and stormed to the washroom stall. He lit the card on fire with his lighter, watched the card burn halfway before flushing it down the toilet, destroying the evidence.

Though Ichigo did not understand the reason behind the mission, he understood that he could not refuse. He knew that, with a word from Aizen, he would land right back in prison hell. However, as he gazed at the spiralling water, he wondered grimly if he had escaped from hell to sink in a place far worse than that.

* * *

Ichigo stood by the pier, watching as the waves came crashing. He wore a black bandana and a pair of black gloves, pondering briefly about what he was doing.

Just the night before, he came to the pier to observe the area. There were no cameras in the area because he knew a very prominent gang destroyed them a year ago as a prank. As this was not a very popular area nor was it owned by any big cooperation, the place had fell out of disrepair.

Even without Aizen's vague guidance, Ichigo knew what to do.

Even without Aizen's power, he could finish the job without a trace.

But it was with Aizen's will that he was going to do it.

He sighed, looked away from the ocean and faced Storage Shed No. 15. He glanced at the transformer located on the electrical pole stretched along the pier, so dangerously close to the roof of the storage shed. He had already jammed a dead bird he found on the pier in the coolant just a few moments ago, now it was only a matter of time before it overheats in the middle of an especially hot night of early July, when everyone was using air conditioners.

Ichigo's next move was, as a consequence, timed by this ticking bomb.

Ichigo hurried to the side of the storage shed, where the oil were stored for the boats. He unsealed one of the oil containers and tilted it just enough so that the oil leaked along the wall.

Glancing back to make sure he had everything set, he took off his bandana and gloves and dropped them into the flooding oil. He walked away quickly.

By the time he walked past the seventh block, a resounding explosion told Ichigo that the transformer exploded, sending a multitude of sparks onto the ground and lighting the oil and the storage shed in fire. A thick, bulging black smoke climbed high up into the sky, gathering the notice of Karakura Town's citizens. Sirens were sounded as the fire truck rushed to the site. Pretending to be curious, he turned to face the commotion like the others, looking as though in awe as the massive fire incinerated goods, evidences, and dreams.

* * *

The next day, Ichigo grabbed a discarded newspaper on the street. He went back to Haven to read the article about the fire on the second page,

_Last night at 9:45PM, a massive fire burned three of the storage sheds at the Starry Dock to ashes. The cause of the fire, said an expert, was because the transformer near the shed overheated and as a result exploded. The large sparks lit up the oil supply which was near the transformer. The firefighters rushed to the site and successfully controlled the fire, but they were too late to save any burned goods._

_One of the owners of the destroyed storage sheds, who ran a local convenience store, was devastated by the loss. He said dejectedly, "That was our main storage supply. Business wasn't going well for us, and now this happened. I don't know if we can cover up the costs of this damage."_

_A public inquiry was made to see whether the rest of the transformers in the town are safe._

Ichigo never felt such intrusion of privacy, as well as repulsion, when he spotted the all-too-familiar card, along with a red rose petal and a blue beer coaster stuck right beside the article. He sighed, crossing his fingers and holding his breath that his second mission would be much different from his first, and read the writing on the card

"Hand this beer coaster to the bar tender at Sake Club tonight. 12:45AM"

Ichigo could breathe again, though it bothered him slightly that the card had not mentioned his work from yesterday. Ichigo ripped both the card and the coaster off the newspaper. He removed the petal and stuffed it in the pocket where there was already a petal. _What's so special about the coaster?_ He flipped it to find a code written on it. He sighed once more.

He hated to ask a question which he knew would not be answered.

* * *

Sake Club was half disco club and half bar in the shiftiest street there was in Karakura Town. Ichigo rarely visited the club, usually because he did not have enough money. Although he needed to pass by a guard to enter into the club, Ichigo looked older than he really was, so the guard gave little trouble for Ichigo to pass by, even if he had his fake ID ready. Loud music that threatened to kill his eardrums greeted him as he went in through the doors. Crowds of people danced madly to the music, the place so dark that one could barely see their own hands, let alone their dance partners. Ichigo pretended to dance a little before heading to the pub, which was slightly quieter and brighter, with seats around for drinkers and dancers who were tired.

"Can I have one of these, please?" Ichigo slid the coaster on the bar table.

The blonde bar tender with green eyes glared at the underage teen, scrutinizing him. After a moment, she took the coaster and glanced at it. She put the coaster in her pocket. In return, she gave Ichigo a small pitch of gin.

"Thanks." He grimaced at the choice of alcohol.

The bar tender nodded absentmindedly and walked away. Ichigo sipped the glass, disliking the bitter and fiery taste of it when he caught a voice that seemed familiar.

"…wasn't too much of a loss."

Ichigo watched from the mirror at the wall and was shocked to see Kyoraku sitting there with several dangerous-looking people, revealing girls sitting amongst them. Kyoraku still had his hair tied back as usual, but unlike his typical unkempt attire, he wore a black tux, no longer looking shaggy.

One of the men asked, "Didn't you lose some of your shipments in that fire?"

"Yeah, but the cops were onto something about the drug dealings there, so I moved most of my drug shipments somewhere else already," Kyoraku stated calmly, as though he was talking about the weather. He sipped his sake, "It's still business as usual."

Ichigo sweated. Maybe it was because of the crowd of sweating people, or because the ventilation system was really poor in this club, or it was just because of the pitch of gin he just had, he suddenly felt uncomfortably hot.

"Besides, you know I don't make much from that store that I had," Kyoraku continued darkly, "I'll use that as an excuse to close down the store. My employees know nothing about the business I have with you guys, but they must start to wonder how I manage to keep the store running. The fire was perfect-timing, really."

Kyoraku put his sake down and said mischievously, "If you'd excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom. Alcohol really makes your bladder go wonky."

Kyoraku stood up and headed for the bathroom, which was outside of the club. The street and the bathrooms were unexpectedly empty. He pulled the door to the washroom open slightly when a hand slammed the door shut. He turned to the person and said playfully, "Oi, bro, I wasn't kidding when I said I really had to-"

He stopped. He looked at the teenager with orange hair with his head down. "You okay bud? Need a ride home?" Kyoraku asked half jokingly, half with mild concern.

"You don't remember me? I guess you really don't care about that shitty store you had after all." Ichigo lifted him up and slammed him on the brick wall, surprising Kyoraku with his strength.

"Trying to fight with me?" Kyoraku provoked, "I don't think I'd lose to a brat who seemed to have a little too much to drink. What do you have against me?"

"I don't like the way you're treating your employee." Ichigo declared with a flare in his eyes.

"Which employee?" asked Kyoraku, trying to buy time.

"That Nan-whatever-her-name is girl," Ichigo stated. Kyoraku blinked at the mention of Nanao's name, but Ichigo continued ruthlessly, "She worked hard for you, but you're just going to throw her away after using her like that? Just to earn money off drugs?"

"A brat is teaching me what's right and what's wrong?" mocked Kyoraku.

Ichigo grew angrier, "I'm no saint, but I ain't the type of guy who just sits around and does nothing!"

Ichigo punched Kyoraku's face hard. Kyoraku's nose broke, blood flowing freely from his nostrils. Kyoraku still managed to utter, "That's none of your business."

"I ain't trash who doesn't care about the others, either," Ichigo glared pointedly at Kyoraku.

Kyoraku looked somewhat guilty at that comment. The street was relatively quiet, with muted music coming from the club and sparse cars passing by. Kyoraku sighed, and whispered slowly, "I know I'm bad for her."

"What?" guffawed Ichigo, surprised at an unexpected response.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't want her to be involved. She doesn't have a future with me," Kyoraku said, resigned, "I don't deserve her."

"Then make yourself worthy! You don't make amends by diving deeper into this shit. Fuck this!"

Ichigo punched and kicked him several times in the abdomen before leaving Kyoraku coughing on the streets. Ichigo took off. Kyoraku wheezed a little, whispering, "I hope you won't be a hypocrite yourself, brat."

The night was cloudy, the moonlight could only shine through at moments, as though the sky could not make up his mind whether to let the moon shine or hide it from the Earth. Ichigo kept on running on the streets, not really paying attention to where he was running, or what he was running from. His mind almost as angry and clueless as the black clouds up in the sky.

In his already busy mind, he wondered, for the briefest moment, what Aizen truly wanted him to do.

* * *

A/N: School is really starting to get busy so I don't know how often updates will be, but I'll see what I can do.

But thanks for reading! Drop by a review if you'd like :)


	3. Reminiscence of a Silver Lining Part 1

**A/N:** Thanks for all of your very kind and encouraging reviews :) This chapter was originally longer, but I thought it was too long so I had to split it into two chapters (if Ch3 looked like it's shorter than the previous two chapters...it is). Special thanks to xxfluffy for editing this chapter :)

The following warnings may contain some spoilers! So skip this following chunk if you want to stay surprised xD

* * *

Characters in this chapter: Ichigo, Renji, Ururu, Karin, Yuzu, Rangiku, Gin

Pairing in this chapter: not really prominent at this point, but RangikuxGin in a very lopsided way (you'll see)

Warnings: Coarse language, child abuse, mild violence.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

* * *

**Prisoners of Liberty**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Reminiscence of a Silver Lining Part 1**

* * *

"That was you?" Renji exclaimed.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Ichigo scolded Renji, "Sheesh, man, sometimes I wonder whether you have a brain inside that puny head of yours."

"Shut up, Strawberry-head," Renji retorted, "We're in the HAVEN, no one _ever_ comes by here, remember?"

Ichigo was beginning to doubt that.

It was several days after the Sake Club incident. Ichigo, who was wearing a white T-shirt with a black pair of jeans, stood while Renji sat on one of their favourite boxes, listening to Ichigo's adventures. Ichigo had not received any mission orders since then, but he was not complaining. The last two exhausted him, both physically and mentally. Renji did not come back until today, so Ichigo was filling him in about the missions that he did as they sat beside each other on the boxes inside the Haven.

"That will be our gang's legend, man," announced Renji proudly, patting Ichigo's back harshly as he said so.

"You know this has to stay here, right?" Ichigo asked hesitantly.

Renji frowned, "Well, we'll say it's you AFTER you're done with that Aizen dude."

Ichigo sighed and changed the topic, "So, enough about me, where _were_ you these past few days?"

"Oh, you know the gang," said Renji airily, "Ikkaku and Yumichika," Renji added when Ichigo was about to open his mouth and ask, "They get into fights every other hour, so I'll have to deal with that with my sick skills."

"What skills?" Ichigo asked jokingly.

Renji punched Ichigo on the shoulders, "People skills. Which _someone_ has about as little as dog shit."

Ichigo rubbed his shoulders and grimaced, "It still wouldn't have taken you days, right?"

"You have no idea," muttered Renji darkly, "You rarely sort out those kinda things anyways."

"Yeah, because I don't have someone's skills to do it," said Ichigo sarcastically, although he knew Renji had a point; he was no good when it came to dealing with people.

Renji scowled, "Speaking of which, man, I know you gotta stay low these days, but when you don't have to any more, just hang out with the gang more," Renji requested. Ichigo promised, "I will."

"You better."

Renji stood up, "Well, I gotta jet. Next time I see something go 'ka-boom', I'll know where you are." Renji laughed.

"Yeah okay man," Ichigo rolled his eyes, secretly hoping he would not have to blow up anything any time soon.

"Peace out man! And don't forget about the rave next week!" Renji called out as he closed the door behind him. Ichigo sat there in silence, listening to the faint voices of wind blowing and cars passing by. After a moment, he picked up a jeans jacket and left the Haven. As he exited through the faded red door, he glanced around to check for any possible tails (especially Aizen's tails) tracking him. When he could not detect any, he shook his head and walked out onto the streets.

He had nowhere to go in particular, but he was really bored and did not want to just sit at the Haven. He walked absent-mindedly, letting his feet take him to wherever they desire. He stopped when he reached to a rather small playground, a rare sight in a metropolitan city. The playground had two swings, a seesaw and one slide with a red and blue plastic platform. The ground was filled with sand to protect the children from falling too hard. It was still morning; most children had gone to school, so the swings stood still and the playground was silent. He stood there, staring at the empty playground, some memories rushed at his head as he remembered playing on the swings when he was really young, a swish of auburn hair as he was pushed higher up-

Abruptly, he was dragged away from his thoughts as Ichigo felt someone tugging his jacket, "Umm…excuse me, oni-san," said a voice shyly.

Ichigo looked down to see a girl with black, should-length hair holding an orange balloon. For a second, Ichigo thought she resembled someone he knew so well, someone he had not seen for a long time. But then he looked closer and saw that the hairline was different. Even her voice sounded much softer as she said timidly, "Someone told me to give this to you."

He slowly grasped the orange balloon from the child's hand. Inside his head, he cursed himself for making that mistake in the first place.

"Thank you," A rare smile was seen on Ichigo's face as in appreciation, and the child smiled uncertainly in return. Ignoring the card hanging from the string of the balloon, Ichigo bent down so that he and the child were at face level and asked gently, "Oni-san wants to ask you a question: Who told you to give it to me?"

The child stuttered, "Um…some grown-up wearing glasses. I don-don't know him," She paused, her eyes looking up as she recalled the details, "He was wearing a hat and a long white coat and a bandana covering his face, selling balloons to kids. He was really nice! He said that you looked lonely so he gave you this balloon for free," She beamed for a while, but her face faltered soon after, "But I'm kind of scared of him, for some reason."

Ichigo glanced around, but failed to find this man with glasses and long while coat. Ichigo shook his head and advised the girl, "Next time if someone asks you to give someone something, tell them to give it to the person themselves!"

"Oni-san's so mean…"

"Ururu!" a woman's voice called out.

"Oka-chan!," said Ururu hurriedly, "My family's waiting for me – we're going to somewhere nice this weekend," She beamed, "See you around, mean oni-san!"

They waved goodbye to each other. Ichigo stared at the child and her family's shadow going further and further away until they were out of sight. He then turned his attention to the card reluctantly. As he read the writing, Ichigo thought this was one of the strangest missions he had ever seen.

He peeled the rose petal off the card as usual. This time, however, he looked closely at the black rose underneath the petal. It was a small but graceful rose. He could not fathom why the oh-so-powerful Aizen gave him those petals, although he secretly liked them. They were a small consistency in his now chaotic life. Ichigo wondered whether Aizen was even in prison still – he suspected that the person in glasses might be him.

He shook his head. He should not be thinking about Aizen. Right now, he had to prepare for the mission. He walked away from the playground as he planned his next move.

* * *

At exactly 5PM, Ichigo stepped into the designated place, the bell at the door ringing as he entered. Before his nose could adjust to the strong caffeine smell, a boisterous voice boomed,

"Welcome to the Nazei's Coffee Shop!" said the long green haired coffee shop clerk a little over-enthusiastically, perhaps because he was one of the few (forced) customers in the shop, "What can I get you today?"

Ichigo approached the counter cautiously, "Can I have, er," Ichigo peered at his card again, "a latte with extra cream and strawberry syrup on top?"

"Oh, finally!" exclaimed the coffee shop clerk. Ichigo raised his eyebrows, but the green-haired woman merely giggled, "You're the first customer to EVER try that out in this store since its debut! I guess not a lot of people like to try strawberry flavour on latte." She chuckled and winked at Ichigo, while pulling out a cup from nowhere so fast that Ichigo nearly missed it

While she prepared the latte, Ichigo looked around the small coffee shop for lack of better things to do. Light jazz music was playing as a few college students sat on the small tables with their laptops and notes, studying intensely. An electronic fireplace stood in a corner with comfy sofas surround it. Chocolate-coloured blinds and cloths hung from the wall to soften the mood of the shop. It would have been a very relaxing place, were it not for the backdoor that was opened to promote air circulation. The backdoor, Ichigo observed, led to a construction site, and for what he did not know. Over the music, Ichigo could hear somewhat faintly the sound of drilling and hammering.

"There you go, honey," The green-haired lady dragged him away from his trance, "all the good stuff's _inside_." The woman said as she handed the cup over to Ichigo. She winked at him again as he handed her the money which he 'acquired'.

"Thanks," muttered Ichigo and escaped from the store quickly.

As he trotted away from the coffee shop, Ichigo had to admit that the cup of latte smelled very appealing, but he was not allowed to drink it yet. He made a mental note to make Renji get it for him later with his "people skills" next time.

He returned to the playground he visited this morning. He sat on one of the two old wooden benches, drinking the latte, savouring the rich taste. He left the empty cup on the bench, stood up, and pretended to the sunflowers grown around the playground.

Eventually, a man, wearing the uniform of a street-cleaner, came and picked up the cup. He placed a card on the bench and left.

Ichigo sighed. He approached the bench and was about the pick up the card when he heard a girl's voice calling out, "No way…It IS him!"

"Ichi-nii!"

"Oni-san!"

Ichigo turned to the sound of a long-lost memory. He thought that his mind was playing tricks on him as he stared at the two figures running toward him disbelievingly.

"Karin…Yuzu?" Ichigo could not believe his eyes. The two young twin sisters ran straight into him and hugged him tightly. "You guys…" Suddenly, an overwhelming guilt gripped him as he embraced the twins.

"Oni-san! Where were you these past two years? We missed you so much!" cried the blond hair twin, Yuzu.

"Ichi-nii's a baka!" Karin, the black-haired twin, hugged him tighter, "You should've just stayed with us!"

Ichigo was too shocked to do anything but pat his foster sisters. Ichigo looked up from them and saw a beautiful woman with long, slightly curly auburn hair who wore a pink scarf around her neck despite the hot weather approaching slowly toward him, staring straight at him with her light blue eyes and whispered, "Ichigo-chan?"

Ichigo uttered, "Rangiku…oka-san?" Memories which he had held back the entire day rushed unwillingly into his head, threatening to drown him with his own past…

* * *

_Two years ago_

_Ichigo laid on the ground, panting, cold sweat drenching his clothes. His right arm was hurting painfully. He did not dare to look at the several cuts on his arm that bled freely, though not to the point where Ichigo would faint from loss of blood. A silver-haired man with closed eyes towered over him, grinning wildly. Although the man was dressed in all white, none of Ichigo's blood touched his clothes. He squatted down to look at the boy more closely._

"_You're pretty tough for a cute boy," said the man with silver hair and closed eyes, smirking, "But I wonder if you can stand the thirteenth cut." He flashed his short sword in front of Ichigo's eyes._

"_Gin, please stop this! Don't hurt the Ichigo-chan any more! He's just a child!" Rangiku, who was tied to a chair, cried, tears falling down from her cheeks._

_Gin stopped and turned toward Rangiku. "Just a child…?" Gin opened one of his blue eyes, staring at Rangiku intently, and whispered sinisterly, "A child is no angel, dear Rangiku." Gin approached Rangiku dangerously. Rangiku looked up at Gin in fear. Gin slapped Rangiku so hard that Rangiku buckled over in pain._

"_Stop it!" yelled Ichigo. He ran and put himself in front of Rangiku despite his wounds, breathing heavily, "Stop hurting Rangiku oka-san!" His vision blurred slightly, but he stared directly into Gin's eyes as he said the words._

"_Oooh look, Rangiku, the kid's tryin' to protect ya," Gin mocked, "Ya feel proud for raising this kid?"_

"_You can't hurt her!" Ichigo declared defiantly, "I'll protect her with my life if I have to."He raised his left fists and tried to hit Gin, but his hand was easily stopped by Gin's grip; He could not even pull back. Gin laughed maniacally, "There's nothing you can do if I decide to kill her. Besides, she on'y got hurt cuz she tried to protect 'ya."_

_Ichigo felt tears welling up in his eyes, guilt coursing through his whole body, drowning him._

"_FINE!" roared Ichigo, closing his eyes and he said so, "I'll leave this place! I'll leave!"_

"_Oh? But where would you go from here, little Ichigo-chaan?"_

"_Anywhere but here!"_

"_No, Ichigo-chan!" Rangiku shouted, but Ichigo was determined._

"_Fine by me," said Gin, surprising both Ichigo and Rangiku, "Go wherever you want to Ichigo-chan. But remember this," Gin's face was mere inches away from Ichigo's, "If 'ya mention this to anyone, anyone at all, Rangiku oka-chan, and Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan may not be too happy when they look at you from hell."_

_Ichigo gulped. He knew there was no turning back now. If he stayed, Rangiku oka-san would get hurt even more. "Fine." Gin released his grip on Ichigo's fists. Ichigo pulled away his bruising hand fast. He went quickly into his room and packed up what little belongings he had. Before he left, he glanced back to see Karin and Yuzu hugging each other as they stared at Ichigo, Rangiku sitting on the chair, helpless, and finally, Gin, who was playing with his sword, not looking at him. He closed his eyes, turned away from them and ran away._

_As he ran on the streets, panting heavily from his wounds and over-exertion, he whispered, "Sorry, Karin, Yuzu, but this is the only way I can protect you guys," Tears flowed freely as he escaped into the night.

* * *

_

A/N: Ch4 will be released tomorrow after I fine tune it a little. Thanks for reading! Drop by a review if you'd like :)_  
_


	4. Reminiscence of a Silver Lining Part 2

A/N: Here's the second part! It's a little early, but stats homework was killing me so I decided to post this up instead o.o I hope I wrote the fight scene well enough. Again, special thanks to xxfluffly for editing the chapter. Enjoy~

Characters in this chapter: Karin, Yuzu, Ichigo, Rangiku, Gin

Pairings in this chapter: again, a very lopsided GinxRangiku, more prominent in this chapter

Warnings: Violence

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

* * *

**Prisoners of Liberty**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Reminiscence of a Silver Lining Part 2**

* * *

Karin and Yuzu, out of exhaustion, fell asleep on the benches. Ichigo was playing with them in the playground while Rangiku watched before they grew tired and decided to sit down. Ichigo was glad to see that there seemed to be less bruises on them than two years ago. He took off his jacket and placed it on top of them both. Ichigo's uncovered arm revealed the faded scars still present on his right arm. Rangiku sat beside Ichigo who was watching them sleep. Ichigo turned his attention to Rangiku.

"How's it going lately?" asked Ichigo tentatively, "How's…_he_…treating you?"

Rangiku remained silent as she fingered her scarf and gazed at the birds feeding on a small patch of grass, which made Ichigo worry even more. Rangiku sighed and began, "Gin's…" She paused, thinking how she should phrase the sentence, "Well, you know he wasn't as harsh on the girls as he was on you."

"So he hasn't changed at all," stated Ichigo angrily.

"No, he's been slightly better," Rangiku sighed again, "When you left, he seemed to have returned to his senses a little bit."

Ichigo snorted. "I don't understand why you still live with him," Ichigo crossed his arms, "I'm sure you can live on your own no problem. You don't have to let him do this to you." Ichigo pleaded.

Rangiku looked at a distance as she uttered sadly, "You…have to understand Gin," Rangiku fumbled with her fingers as she continued, "I love him, I really do. He was such a nice person back then. But…after the war…he just came back a different person." Rangiku paused, "I tried to understand him, but I couldn't. It's like…there's always something in between us.

"I thought he truly wanted to have a family, to live normally again. If I knew he'd be this way, I would've never adopted you guys and let him hurt you like that," said Rangiku regretfully.

"It's not your fault," Ichigo comforted her as he placed his hand gently on her shoulders, "If anything, I'm sorry that I couldn't do a thing back then. You helped me pull through those times."

"No, I don't deserve that much," Rangiku sighed, "I _didn't_ help you enough. I should've stood up to Gin, but I couldn't. You wouldn't have to live on the streets."

"That's why I won't let this go on," Ichigo declared, "I will stop him. I won't let him hurt you or Karin or Yuzu anymore," Ichigo paused and then added, "At least I'm better at fighting now."

Rangiku frowned, "If I remember correctly, I definitely did _not_ teach you that violence is the answer."

Ichigo chuckled for once, and Rangiku smiled in return, but a serious face soon replaced the smile, "Please, Ichigo, if you can, just give him a chance."

"No," Ichigo refused, "This must stop now. This is for yours, and Karin and Yuzu's, sake. I can't leave them both with that man."

Rangiku shook her head, resigned, "I guess that's your call." Rangiku looked up to the red sunset sky, lost in her thoughts while Ichigo sat there, thinking about his next move.

Minutes later, Rangiku announced, "We have to go," Rangiku woke both Karin and Yuzu up. The twins rubbed their eyes and said goodbye to their foster brother unwillingly, clinging onto him.

"Will you come back with us?" asked Yuzu hesitantly.

Ichigo sighed and shook his head regrettably. Yuzu and Karin looked sad, so Ichigo said, "I can visit you guys someday though."

"Really?" exclaimed the twins.

Yuzu said a little sheepishly, "We haven't moved, so oni-san can always come to visit us."

"Don't be afraid of Gin, we'll take care of him when you come to visit," Karin promised Ichigo, her hand balling into a fist. Rangiku and Yuzu frowned while Ichigo nodded. Karin and Yuzu gave Ichigo a last hug before waving goodbye to Ichigo.

Karin and Yuzu went on ahead, with Rangiku trailing behind them. Rangiku nearly left the playground when she suddenly stopped, "And Ichigo?" Rangiku said as she turned around to face him. A tear fell from her cheeks as she whispered, "Please don't kill him."

* * *

The sun continued to sink slowly below the horizon, the other side of the sky darkening fast. Ichigo sat on the bench and thought hard. He knew he did not reunite with his foster family by chance. Why Aizen had done this, whether out of sympathy or mockery, he did not know nor care at this moment.

This time, Ichigo did not even have to read the card to know what his next mission was:

"Deal with your Silver Fox."

The mission was curt. The meaning was clear.

Ichigo knew what had to be done.

* * *

For the five years he lived with Gin, Ichigo knew precisely where Gin always went. It was like a defence mechanism, avoiding Gin at all costs. This time, however, Ichigo used his knowledge to track Gin down.

The sky was completely dark. The streetlights of where Ichigo was drowned out the moonlight and starlight completely. As he expected, Gin went to the Ramen Restaurant down two blocks on a small street from where Gin and Rangiku lived. Ichigo scowled, his heart raced, as he spotted the silver fox's shadow as Gin exited the restaurant.

Gin never takes the main roads, preferring lesser known streets as he return home. Gin hummed a tune as he waltzed down the dark alleyway with minimal lighting. Ichigo, who pulled a hoodie over his head so he would not be noticed, followed him closely, and had so far been successful as Gin never once turned back. Gin turned to his right; Ichigo allowed four seconds before following Gin as well.

Ichigo was relieved when he saw that Gin was still in sight, but he was momentarily confused as the street was a dead end with only a small lamp, mounts of discarded garbage and flies abound. A foul stench, like moulded bread and rotten eggs, irritated his nose. Without warning, Gin turned around and threw a dagger at Ichigo. Although Ichigo knew Gin well, he only dodged it by a hair as he stepped aside quickly. Gin faced his stalker for the first time, scrutinizing him.

"Oooh, someone actually dodged my attack," Gin said playfully, "Aand who may you be?"

Ichigo said nothing. Ichigo thought that Gin had not changed much; the creepy smile that always hung on his face, the suffocating aura that Gin always carried around him. Slowly, he pulled down his hoodie and stared right at Gin. Gin opened his eyes a little, "Hm. Orange hair, brown fiery eyes, but you look so different from before, Ichigo-chaan."

Ichigo took out his switchblade and rushed at Gin. Gin merely stepped aside, dodging all of this stabs with ease, but he did not expect Ichigo to regain his footings immediately to send him a right hook kick. Gin blocked it with his arms, used Ichigo's momentum and swung him aside. Ichigo used the same leg to stabilize himself on the wall. Wasting no time, Gin threw a bag of garbage toward Ichigo. Ichigo swept it away, but Gin successfully distracted him as he delivered a kick on Ichigo's stomach. Ichigo coughed and dropped his switchblade.

Gin sneered, "Well look who's gotten better at fighting. But you're still too young-"

Suddenly Ichigo spun sideways in midair, as though to kick Gin with his right leg again. Gin blocked it out of instinct, but his head was kicked by the back of Ichigo's left leg. Gin lost his balance and nearly hit his head on the wall.

"I didn't quite catch that," said Ichigo, feigning cluelessness, "What were you saying about 'no match'?"

Gin took out another dagger from the pocket hidden on his thigh. They stood a few meters apart, weighing each other out, both panting slightly. The switchblade that Ichigo dropped was in between them. Gin said, "You've gotten quite a big mouth too. Tsk tsk."

"No thanks to you," Ichigo huffed, "Did you even know what you did to us – what you did to me – back then?"

"Of course I do," Gin countered, as though guiltless to his accusation, "And I savoured every moment of it. Life was boring without the kid who held himself after twelve cuts. The girls won't be able to take it." Gin grinned wildly.

Ichigo snarled, "You son of a—"

"Though I must say, you _are_ a creepy kid, after all," Gin said playfully, cutting him off, "Who would've thought you'd come back for more? Did Rangiku send you here?" Gin asked carefully.

"No, I came here because I wanted to," Ichigo said defiantly, "You will pay for what you did," Ichigo inched closer to Gin, "It wasn't fair for Rangiku, Karin or Yuzu, to be tortured by a psychopath."

Gin chortled, "Haven't you heard? All's fair in love and war."

Ichigo growled, "You shouldn't have taken all that stuff from war and let it out on us."

Gin's grin faded for a moment, but a far more sinister smile replaced it soon after, "Sorry about that, Ichigo-chan, but you remind me too much of that kid on the war field. Besides, you didn't come here to lecture me, did you?"

Ichigo picked up his switchblade and lunged forward again. Gin blocked it with his dagger, "Always charging straight in—"

Ichigo right leg came swirling toward Gin's stomach. Gin buckled over to dodge the kick. Ichigo moved quickly and delivered a strong punch on Gin's chin, hard enough to lift Gin off the ground. Gin's eyes saw stars for a moment, but before he could regain his coordination, his head was slammed into the wall. Gin was too dizzy to see any more, let alone stand. Ichigo panted heavily. He picked up Gin's dagger and threw it far away.

"So that's it, huh? I must be getting old," Gin commented, sighed slightly. "Well, I earned it," he whispered softly.

Ichigo approached Gin slowly, cautiously. Gin, however, was too injured to move. His mouth moved a little as he whispered, his consciousness fading gradually, "Sorry, Rangiku…and you kids too…" Ichigo gripped the switchblade tightly, his hand sweating. His eyes never left Gin as he went closer and closer to him. He was about to plunge his right hand down toward Gin's neck, howling-

And his hand froze in midair. His hand trembled as he heard Rangiku's pleading voice played over in his head again. He could not do it. He stared down at the man he hated for so long, but he could not kill him.

Ichigo threw the dagger away angrily and let out a frustrating howl. Ichigo uttered to Gin who was barely conscious, "You don't even have the right to die." Ichigo just stood there, staring at the man who scarred his and his foster family's lives deeply. Gin remained silent, seemingly fainted.

Ichigo left Gin there and walked back out onto the main street. It was a rather windy night. The streetlights were a little too bright for Ichigo, who just fought in a very dark alleyway. He swayed about as he walked, as though looking for something. Eventually, he reached a tiny plastic phone booth. The wind died down as he stepped inside.

Ichigo stared at the payphone, pondering briefly about what he was about to do. Ichigo took a deep breath, inserted a few coins and dialled the number he wanted to call so desperately before, but never dared to until now. The phone rang three times before the operator at the other end of the line picked up.

Ichigo said shakily, "Hello? I wanted to call about a foster family living on Third Street? Yes, that one…I think you should go there and investigate the family, 'cause I think something wrong's going on…Bruises, cuts, that kind of stuff…I'd prefer if I don't give my name…yes, thank you."

Ichigo hung the phone up, sighing. Suddenly, he felt very weak. He slipped down from the side of the phone booth and sat on the ground. The guilt for leaving Karin, Yuzu, and Rangiku behind, which he held onto for two years, was finally liberated from him. Strangely, he wanted to cry, but he could not. He just sat inside of the phone booth for a long time, lost in his thoughts.

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A/N: Thanks for reading this story thus far :) Review?


	5. The Sweet Respite

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback! It kept me going :)

This chapter took longer than expected, mainly because it was hard to work around with the plot line. This chapter's a little breather after the past two chapters.

Special thanks to MSL and xxfluffy for editing this chapter~ Without them the chapter would have been really dull.

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Characters in this chapter: Ichigo, Hanatarou, Urahara

Pairings in this chapter: a hint of AizenxIchigo

Warnings: Slight coarse language, slight fluff

Disclaimer: I do not own the awesome Bleach.

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**Prisoners of Liberty**

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**Chapter 5: The Sweet Respite**

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Two days have passed since he made the phone call. Ichigo really wanted to make sure Rangiku and the others were safe, but he was not sure whether it was safe or not – after all, those agents must have found Gin injured. He did not want to crash into his old home only to explain how he knew something had happened and how he got his injuries to the agents there. He had no way of finding out what was going on otherwise, which left Ichigo very frustrated.

Instead, he had been focusing on looking for clues as to what Aizen was truly up to. He visited almost all the places that Aizen had instructed him to go to look for his traces, but could not find any – the man was like a ghost. Ichigo wished that he could ask Renji to ask around for more information, but Ichigo had not seen Renji recently. Although Renji never stayed in one place for too long, he wished that Renji at least left some indication that he was alive, instead of having him worry whether that stupid Renji had died in a ditch in some place foreign.

Oddly, that suited him as well – after the confrontation with Gin, he wanted to spend some time alone.

Annoyed with the lack of information and left with nothing else to do, Ichigo stood by the street that led to the Haven, sighed and looked around in boredom. The cars and people were sparse as it was a Sunday morning. The early sun shone through the slight mist, so that although the skies were blue, the city took on a mystified look, as though it was a familiar dream. Ichigo dozed off a little, tired from all the pressure and drama.

Suddenly, a boy with face-length black hair nearly crashed into him. The boy nearly dropped his box as he tumbled, but he caught the box daintily before the box fell onto the ground. He pulled up, red-faced as he said to Ichigo, "Ano, excuse me, is y-your-r name Kurosaki Ichigo?" asked the timid boy shakily. Ichigo nodded carefully. The boy beamed, "Thank you for ordering from K Pastry! My name is Hanatarou, a proud deliverer of baked goods~"

Ichigo raised his eyebrow and muttered, "…Hanato…"

"It's Hanatarou." The boy grinned.

"Your name's too hard to remember," Ichigo frowned, "Anyway, I didn't order anything from K Pastry…"

The boy scratched his head, half-laughing, "Well, actually, someone placed an order for you."

Ichigo blinked and scowled at Aizen's lack of tact. _Really, he sends messages through pastry boxes now?_

"Sign here please!" Ichigo scribbled something illegible on the paper and handed it back to Hanatarou. "Thank you~ Please visit our store again!"

Ichigo ignored Hanatarou who trotted away, humming a tune. He took the box and went back to the Haven, craving for some privacy.

Expecting a card of some sort, Ichigo opened the box, muttering curses as he did so, and looked inside-

"What the fu-!" Ichigo cried in surprise.

A cake!

Of all the things you can find in the box.

A cake!

Worse yet, it was a _strawberry cake_. A white chocolate piece, with _strawberry-pink _letters "Happy 16th Birthday", sat on top of the cake. The cake was slightly uneven from the impact before, but it retained its shape.

Ichigo blushed madly. He was truly glad that Renji was not here to witness this, or else this would have gone on his permanent record of embarrassments.

Ichigo wondered if he was dreaming, for he did not know what to make of the cake. Was it a token of gratitude? A warning? A – Ichigo could not bear that thought – birthday gift? He became more confused than ever.

Ichigo never really celebrated his birthday. If he had celebrated his birthday with his birth parents, he did not remember. Gin, of course, would never celebrate his birthday, unless you counted "birthday beats" a celebration. Rangiku, Karin, and Yuzu could only give him a birthday hug secretly. Not even Renji remembered his birthday. Ever. Things that were as trivial as birthdays were always forgotten once you live on the streets.

He never felt truly glad to be born to begin with.

He would never admit it, but, as he stared at the cake, he was actually happy for the very first birthday gift that he could remember.

A familiar card was stuck on the lid of the box. Ichigo carefully laid the cake on top of the box where him and Renji always sat and peeled the card off. He found another card underneath Aizen's card.

"By the way, you left this card. You should meet up with him tonight."

It was Urahara's phone number.

Ichigo scowled. His heightened good mood plopped face-down onto the ground.

Yep, he was definitely not dreaming.

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Once again, Ichigo stood inside a phone booth. Ichigo was really beginning to hate them. He did not really want to talk with Urahara, especially after their disastrous first meeting. However, he had no choice as he put the coins into the payphone and dialled the number. Ichigo only had to wait several seconds before Urahara picked up.

"Hello! You've reached Urahara Kisuke." Urahara's playful tone

"Hello? Urahara-san?" Ichigo gripped the phone tighter, suddenly nervous.

"Speaking~ Who may this be?"

Ichigo hesitated, "Kurosaki…Ichigo."

"Ooh, Mr. Kurosaki. You finally called!" Urahara said, annoyingly cheerful.

Ichigo grimaced, "Yeah…wait, shouldn't you be surprised that I called since I'm not in-"

"So what can I help you with?" Urahara rambled on, cutting Ichigo off.

"Um, well, you see, I don't really like to talk over the phone," muttered Ichigo, "Do you mind if we meet somewhere tonight and grab something to eat or something?"

Ichigo could hear some papers flipping in the background. He assumed Urahara was checking his schedule. _Although_, Ichigo thought, _if Aizen had 'planned' this along with Urahara, I doubt that Urahara's not free tonight_. Urahara was checking probably because someone else in the agency was watching him, and it would have seemed odd if he agreed without looking whether he was busy with an appointment later that night. Sure enough, Urahara's voice replied, "Sure, I'm free tonight. Do you have anywhere you want to go in particular?"

"No, not really," Ichigo said, "You know any place that's good or _recommended?"_

Urahara chuckled as he understood Ichigo's reference to Aizen, "Let's meet at the Mac Fast Food Restaurant on Twelve St. and Shouten Ave at 8PM?"

"Alright, see you at 8 then," Ichigo hung up. He was somewhat relieved that Urahara was still as 'friendly' as before. Why Aizen would arrange a meeting between them however, Ichigo mused, only Aizen or Urahara would know.

* * *

The neon light of Mac's sign glowed brightly, trying to seize the attention of hungry passer-bys. Sadly, the lights did not stand out among the many other stores and buildings galore which were also decorated with flashing lights and signs. Although Mac's had a large franchise, the one on Twelve St. and Shouten Ave was a relatively small one. Ichigo entered the rather empty store, wrinkling his nose as he did so to the smell of oily food. He supposed that people did not want to dine out on a Sunday night, and even if they did they would not choose a fast food restaurant to do so. He looked around and spotted the man wearing the familiar green and white stripped hat approaching toward him.

"Hello, long time no see, Mr. Kurosaki," Urahara shook Ichigo's hand, "And happy birthday, by the way." Urahara grinned. Ichigo felt something was in between their hands. He sighed, turned his wrists and glanced at the card.

The card wrote, "Treat Urahara for a meal."

Ichigo read the line several times in disbelief. "Are you sure this isn't your scam?" asked Ichigo suspiciously.

Urahara laughed, "No, unfortunately for you. Do I look like the type of man to stick rose petals on cards?"

Ichigo scowled and complained, "I don't own the bank you know. And anyway, who treats someone else on their own birthdays?"

Urahara sniggered, "Didn't Aizen already give you something for your birthday?"

"Yeah, he sent me a _strawberry_ cake," groaned Ichigo, though with an almost undetectable hint of gratitude, "And your card. I swear I'm getting sick of all these puns on my name."

Urahara gave him an odd look, "A cake, huh? That's unusual, coming from him."

Ichigo blushed slightly again. He turned away from Urahara, whom he remembered was quite shrewd, before answering, "You telling me."

Fortunately, Urahara did not comment any further. They went up to the counter to order their hamburger meals. Ichigo grudgingly handed over the money, silently protested in his mind about Urahara ordering the most expensive meal there was on the menu.

They found a two-person table at the corner of the restaurant and sat down. Hungry, Ichigo unwrapped the hamburger's packing when Urahara said casually, "By the way, I've heard from my friend that your foster parent, Gin, got into a little trouble."

Ichigo stopped for a second, but he took a bite out of the burger, acting as normally as he could. He asked, almost uncaringly, "What happened to him?"

"I heard he got beat up pretty badly, though nothing like what he did to his wife and foster kids," Urahara carried on, while Ichigo chewed on his burger piece slowly, "They said that whoever did a number to him could have finished him easily, but they didn't."

Ichigo said nothing as he continued to chew on his burger.

Urahara leaned closer and said softly, "Don't worry too much about Matsumoto Rangiku and your twin sisters, they're fine. They're being relocated right now. Someone's following their case closely."

Ichigo sighed in relief. Urahara smiled as he said, "It was a good thing that you called. Somehow he kept slipping through the foster agency's fingers to launch a direct investigation."

Ichigo nodded; he knew how well Gin could conceal his crimes, "Do you know where Rangiku-oka-chan is being relocated to?"

Urahara replied with a sad smile, crossing his arms, "I'm afraid that's classified – which means I don't even know where they're being relocated to," Ichigo scowled at Urahara's obvious lie while Urahara shrugged, "Well, I'm not _supposed _to know, since I'm technically not following your case anymore." Urahara saw Ichigo was upset by this, so he added, "You don't have to make that face, they're under strict protection right now, and besides," Urahara whispered lowly, "It's not good if you're caught there."

Ichigo shook his head, "As an ex-foster child I should be able to—"

"You've said it, you're an ex-foster child," interrupted Urahara, though not without sympathy, "You really can't go and see them."

"I want to make sure that they're okay," said Ichigo stubbornly.

Urahara's face was serious as he said, "Have some faith in our work, Mr. Kurosaki. I give you my word that they are in good hands."

Ichigo sighed in defeat, "I guess I'd have to go with what you say, or rather, Aizen's…" Ichigo scowled. A thought suddenly occurred to him as he asked hesitantly, "You know Aizen well, right?"

"Well enough," Urahara muttered and finally started on his burger.

Ichigo stuttered, embarrassed albeit asking a reasonable question, "What is Aizen…really planning…with me?"

Urahara smiled, his eyes unfocused, "If I had to guess…then I'd say that he, like me, is trying to make amends."

"Make amends for what?" asked Ichigo incredulously.

"Well, that's his business," Urahara responded vaguely, causing Ichigo to frown at the lack of information, "I have no rights to tell you his secrets."

Ichigo did not know what to make of this man as he scowled at always being out of the loop. He shook his head and decided to chew on some fries instead. It occurred to Ichigo that Urahara said he was trying to make amends as well, so he asked, "Urahara-san, if you don't mind me asking, what about you? What are making up for?"

Urahara paused. He put his burger down as he said, "Well, that's a very _long_ story. A very old one as well."

Ichigo waited.

Urahara sighed, "To put it bluntly, I never aspired to do what I'm doing right now when I was young. I wasn't always a correctional service agent, you know."

Ichigo somehow did not find that surprising. After all, he was not as stiff as the other agents were. He listened as Urahara continued, "Back when I was young…I was a researcher. And a crooked one at that," Urahara grinned, but his grin faded as he went on, "In college, there were a lot of students who insisted that research was impractical. I, however, find it otherwise. I think learning as much as possible, through the means of research, would be beneficial to all."

Urahara took a large sip on his cola before continuing, "…is what I told my peers."

"The truth is that I've been trying to look for something that could push human potential to the greatest. You see, we humans only use five percent of our brains' capacity. If I could understand the brain completely...then the possibilities are endless. We could understand humans in an entirely different dimension. So, together with my partner, Kurotschi, we set out to experiment with the human brain, " Urahara paused, "Though, you may say that I have no morals guiding my research at all."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo inquired.

Urahara smiled dryly, "I did illegal human experiments."

Ichigo blinked, "What..?"

"I took in…misinformed…volunteers. The experiments involved something that violated the United Nations human rights and the 'conduct of research'," Urahara closed his eyes, "I wanted to see what would a mind do if I push it to the utmost edge, in the most dangerous and life-threatening situations."

Urahara opened his eyes and stared directly at Ichigo, "And I should tell you, some of the 'volunteers' were those who were sentenced to life in prison; those who had nothing better to do and needed to do some…'community service'."

Ichigo's heart raced nervously. Urahara added, "Of course that doesn't happen now." Ichigo let out a sigh of relief.

"Most of the time I argued with myself that the reason I'm doing this is to prevent the placebo effect," Ichigo looked confused, so Urahara explained, "The placebo effect is something like you feel what you think you're supposed to feel. So if I gave you a drug telling you it'll make you feel happier, you'd think you're happy because of the drug, but in fact the drug doesn't do anything at all."

Ichigo sweat-dropped, "I think I get it…"

Urahara chuckled darkly, "Anyways, that's not important. The important point was that I saw humans as no more than just bodies, subjects. I didn't really feel remorse or anything until something terrible happened at the lab."

Ichigo sipped his drink, waiting as Urahara seemed to be gathering his thoughts.

"One day I happen to found out that Kurostchi was doing something behind my back, something far worse than what we were already doing."

Ichigo gulped, "Like what?"

"I'll spare you the details – they're kind of gory."

"I think I can take it."

Urahara laughed without humour, "Let's just say that Kurostchi devised a program that lets the subjects stuck in an eternal nightmare of amplified guilt and pain physically for an extended period of time, assuming that the person actually feels either."

Ichigo stuttered, "Is that…even possible?"

"Our research group's motto was 'Impossible is impossible'," Urahara muttered, "Looking at those poor prisoners, I finally woke up. I saw their pain. I looked at each individual file of the subjects carefully, you know, and I figured some of them really didn't mean to be this way. Sometimes it was just the circumstances; others were that they were raised poorly," Urahara could not help but to peer at Ichigo at this point. Ichigo ignored the jab, "They didn't deserve to be probed this way, and to be used by us mad scientists who tried to transcend the realms of the gods illicitly." Urahara coughed.

Ichigo could not find anything to respond to that. After a brief silence, Urahara continued, "In any case, I dissolved the research project. Kurostchi was locked up, and because I confessed and 'did the right thing'," Urahara snorted at this point, "My sentence was lessened."

"Then how did you end up doing this gig?" Ichigo asked.

"Somehow, after all that fiasco, I wish that people would be able to see their faults sooner and get back onto the right track," Urahara said, lowering his head as he said so, "I guess that's why I went on to become a correctional service agent, and luckily they let me. It was there and then that I meet Aizen." Urahara chuckled, laughing at what seemed to Ichigo an inside joke.

Ichigo scowled at the mention of Aizen's name, but then sobered, "Well, I guess…I'm glad you're back on track?"

Urahara took a deep breath and said, "Yeah I suppose. And I hope you'll too," Urahara finished his drink, not really looking at Ichigo.

"By doing Aizen's dirty work?" Ichigo snorted, "I don't think so."

Urahara chuckled again and did not comment, "Well, that was that," He sighed and stood up, "I have to go – it's getting late." Urahara cleaned the table up and threw the garbage away. He turned around to face Ichigo, "Well, it was nice hearing from you."

"Thanks for the news." Ichigo muttered.

"Don't mention it," Urahara shrugged. Suddenly, Urahara smiled mischievously as he dug his hand into his pocket, "By the way, here's your birthday present. I nearly forgot."

Ichigo could not believe that he was receiving two birthday gifts in one day. He would have been very thankful, but as he looked at what Urahara gave him he frowned, "Zaien's Super Glue? What the heck do I need this for?"

"Oh you'll need it alright," Urahara sniggered. He gestured a goodbye as he exited the restaurant. Ichigo merely stood there, unsure what to do for the second time today.

It was the happiest and most bizarre birthday Ichigo ever had. _I guess that's why people say it's sweet sixteen._ He scowled at his own corniness and left the restaurant as well.

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Ichigo eventually returned to the Haven and found everything the same as it was in the morning. The piece that Ichigo had saved for Renji was still in the mini fridge, untouched. Renji had not dropped by the Haven at all throughout the day.

Ichigo sighed. He wanted to just enjoy this moment of freedom without indication of impending missions, but as he looked around the messy living quarters he could not help but to clean it. He shuffled all the junk and clothes, coughing as a wave of dust hit him. Ichigo took some time to clear up the pile on the ground, separating his and Renji's clothing to two different piles. He finally reached the last piece of clothing from the heap and found Renji's second-favourite jacket. Unexpectedly, a piece of folded paper fell out and dropped onto the ground.

Curious, Ichigo picked the paper up and unfolded it. The paper had few lines and a picture. Ichigo's heart pounded uncomfortably as he recognized the person in the picture – the boy that the gang beat badly several months before; the boy who was the reason why Ichigo had been in prison. Underneath a picture were several lines about the boy's life and family background.

Ichigo wondered, with an increasingly sickening feeling in his stomach, why Renji had this in his pocket.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Drop by a review if you'd like :)


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